Fr. Lawrence Jagdfeld, O.F.M., Administrator
Because we celebrate the Feast of St. Thomas the Apostle today, the Lectionary for the Mass presents us with special readings including a short passage from St. Paul's Letter to the Ephesians. Using architectural imagery, St. Paul describes the assembly of the people of God. We who believe are, in St. Paul's own words, a sacred temple. This imagery rests upon the notion that the dwelling place of God is among the people rather than a building of brick and mortar.
Not as apparent as the architectural imagery, the Letter to the Ephesians also grapples with the issue of divisions among peoples. The Hebrew people used to refer to themselves as "those who are near," while the Gentiles were called "those who are far off." St. Paul is writing to the Gentile community of Ephesus. In this particular passage he refers to them as "strangers and sojourners," another way in which Gentiles were described. However, in Jesus, such terms and designations have no place. Gentiles are not separate from but part of. Jesus holds the two groups together and makes them one assembly, one body, one community, with Christ as the keystone or capstone. The capstone was the stone in the center of an arched door, the entrance to the building. Through this door, all have access, all are welcome, all are included.
The Letter to the Ephesians is particularly poetic yet fundamental in its ecclesiology. All believers, regardless of race or ethnic origin, are included in God's reign, in God's realm. Built upon the foundation of the apostles, the Church is not a place of division but the locus of unity. Unfortunately, human beings tend to accentuate that which makes them distinct and different rather than concentrating on what makes us the same. Christ shed his blood so that we could be something totally new, a community where all people are welcome.